Cafe Landwer located at 9340 Bathurst Street, Unit 1 in Maple

May 7, 2017:  Thanks to @myfoodnation who hosted a contest back in April of this year, I was able to win a complimentary meal at Cafe Landwer!  Cafe Landwer is an Israeli restaurant that began in Israel in 1919 and newly opened in the Greater Toronto Area this year in February 2017.

The winning prize was a meal for two (drinks, entrées, and desserts).  I decided to go there for dinner with my mom and after coordinating a date and time with the representative of Cafe Landwer, we were on our way there on a Sunday evening.

Screenshot of the contest on Instagram

I had made reservations at 5 p.m. for two and when we got there, I was so surprised to see that the restaurant was packed!  There were a lot of people waiting for a table even so early in the evening.  There were lots of servers all around the restaurant busy with orders and serving customers.  I really liked the interior design of the restaurant too.  As @myfoodnation described on their post, Cafe Landwer is:

“a specialty coffee shop with freshly squeezed juices and healthy shakes combined with a rich menu for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert, all in a high-end 1950’s coffee shop feel.  They just opened in February 2017 at Bathurst and Rutherford! @cafelandwer prides itself in using only the freshest and finest ingredients. The menu is kid friendly with unique presentation that kids will love, very vegan friendly and has gluten-free options.”

Beautiful interior!

When I was finally able to wave down a server and informed her of my 5 p.m. reservation, she looked at me with doubt in her eyes and saying that they don’t usually take reservations on a Sunday but that she would check with me.  After speaking to the manager who acknowledged me and knew that I was coming, we were given a two-person table immediately.  I was really pleased!  We looked at the menu and were really excited about the different Israeli choices that were available.  I don’t think I’ve had Israeli food with Mediterranean, Canadian, and Italian influences like this before!

A lot of tables for small and big groups

They have specialty coffee

Since the winning prize was for two drinks, two entrées, and two desserts, we started off with the drinks first.  We did receive a glass of water with a slice of orange in it first too.

Water glasses with slice of orange

We ordered Landwer’s Famous Ice Tea which had mixed berries, fresh fruit, and passion fruit brew.  It was a beautiful coloured drink that tasting very refreshing too.  My mom really enjoyed it.

Landwer’s Famous Ice Tea. $5.50
-mixed berries, fresh fruit, passion fruit brew

The Health Smoothie that I ordered contained banana, date, pistachios, tahini, date syrup, and soy milk.  This was an absolutely delicious smoothie!!  It was so smooth and creamy and the tastes of all the ingredients combined together were absolutely the best thing I’ve ever had!  The taste of the pistachios wasn’t too strong either which I enjoyed.  Mmm, so yummy! ^_^

Health Smoothie. $6
-banana, date, pistachios, tahini, date syrup, soy milk

Cold drinks

I had heard about their Crispy Cauliflower appetizer (or I was definitely curious about it) and ordered it.  I was prepared to pay for this on its own since I knew that the prize didn’t cover it.  The Crispy Cauliflower dish was all right.  It was served on a bed of tomato salsa and tahini.  I thought that the cauliflower bites could have been more crispy and more flavourful.  However, for those who like blander foods, I think this was a very decent dish.

Crispy Cauliflower. $8
-on a bed of tomato salsa and tahini

Free-Range Chicken & Pesto. $16
-choice of campenelle. Broccoli, mushrooms, and tomatoes in pesto sauce with parmesan, grilled chicken

For one of the entrées, we had the Free-Range Chicken & Pesto pasta.  Their pastas were fresh and made from 100% durum flour and homemade upon order.  There was a choice between campanelle or fettuccine.  I chose the campanelle (a type of pasta which is shaped like a cone with a ruffled edge) since it was unfamiliar to me.  The dish itself had broccoli, mushrooms, and tomatoes in pesto sauce with parmesan and grilled chicken.

When it arrived, it was a beautifully presented dish!  I was in awe of it and took many photos.  Its taste was also very good!  The ingredients were so fresh and I adored how the grilled chicken wasn’t rough or overcooked at all.  This was a great dish to order!  Even our neighbouring table asked me about it since they were impressed by its presentation too!  They ended up ordering it as well. 🙂

Yummy!

Kebab Sinia Pan. $16
-mini beef kebabs, charbroiled eggplant, tomato, red onion, tahini, chickpeas, chickpeas, parsley on a hot stone-oven baked focaccia with a chopped salad

The second entrée we ordered was the Kebab Sinia Pan which had mini beef kebabs, charbroiled eggplant, tomato, red onion, tahini, chickpeas, chickpeas, and parsley on a hot stone-oven baked focaccia with a chopped salad.  This was also a very nicely presented dish that was more than enough for one person!  I’m glad that we shared everything. 😀  The chopped salad of tomatoes and cucumbers was very fresh.  The mini beef kebabs were good and we enjoyed it.

This was a big portion!

Chopped salad that accompanied that Kebab Sinia

Lastly, it was time for dessert!  The Rozalach and their Legendary Crumbled Cheesecake caught my attention.  The Rozalach was crispy dough baked in a stone oven with a rich filling of chocolate hazelnut.  This was definitely one of the most unique desserts I’ve had and I was so glad that I got to try it!  They were little cute doughs that were filled with chocolate hazelnut.  You definitely have to eat this fresh and hot out of the oven when the chocolate hazelnut filling is all melted.  I loved this! ^_^

Rozalach. $12
-crispy dough baked in a stone oven with a rich filling of chocolate hazelnut

This was a really rich, soft, and chocolaty dessert! Loved it!

The Legendary Crumbled Cheesecake had rich cheese and cookie crumbs served with homemade whipped cream.  The presentation of this was very nice too.  The homemade whipped cream was extremely airy and light!  It was so good!  The cookie crumbs on the bottom of the crumbled cheesecake made it a one characteristic one. ^_^

Legendary Crumbled Cheesecake. $10
-rich cheese and cookie crumbs served with homemade whipped cream

Just look at how airy and fluffy that whipped cream was!

We weren’t able to finish everything — it was a lot of food — so we packed up the rest of the two entrées and the Rozalach to enjoy at home.

A hot water to finish off the meal

What a great restaurant!

Thank you so much again to Cafe Landwer for having us and providing such a delicious and wonderful meal on the house care of the contest by @myfoodnation!  If I am ever in the area again or know friends who are looking for a great place for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner, I will definitely recommend this restaurant to them.  They had so many menu options that I know in order to try them all, I would have to return for multiple trips.  Yummy Israeli food with Mediterranean, Canadian, and Italian influences! ❤

Also, our server that night was exceptionally accommodating, friendly, and awesome!  Thanks for serving us. 🙂

FTC Disclaimer:  Although Cafe Landwer provided the meal free of charge via winning an online contest, the opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of the company or the contest host.